Computer system and method for generating, exchanging, and valuing social currency

ABSTRACT

A computer system creates, stores, transmits, modifies, and enables users to exchange units of social currency, referred to as “social currency events” (SCEs). Each SCE represents social approval and/or disapproval of a behavior of one or more users by the same user or one or more other users. The users who send and receive an SCE may each assign their own distinct values to it. The computer system may generate various metrics based on one or more SCEs. For example, the computer system may generate a single SCE score for a user based on variables such as the number and value of SCEs the user has sent and received. SCEs may be used to recognize positive and/or negative social behaviors by users of the system, to encourage such users to engage in additional positive social behaviors, and to discourage such users from engaging in additional negative social behaviors.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/454,915, filed on Aug. 8, 2014, entitled, “Computer System and Methodfor Generating, Exchanging, and Valuing Social Currency.”

BACKGROUND

Computer systems exist for enabling users to express approval anddisapproval of organizations, products, services, and content. Forexample, many e-commerce sites enable users to post reviews ofbusinesses and of particular products and services. As another example,many social media sites enable users to indicate their approval ordisapproval of particular organizations, products, services, andcontent. Facebook's “like” feature is an example of such a mechanism.Sites often generate statistics based on such user feedback, such as theaverage rating for a particular product or the total number of likesreceived by a particular web site, and display such statistics to thepublic.

Although such feedback mechanisms are useful, they are limited infunctionality. For example, such feedback mechanisms are only useful forenabling users to provide feedback on organizations, products, services,and content.

SUMMARY

A computer system creates, stores, transmits, modifies, and enablesusers to exchange units of social currency, referred to as “socialcurrency events” (SCEs). Each SCE represents social approval and/ordisapproval of a behavior of one user by the same user or another user.The user who creates and sends an SCE may assign a first value to it.The user who receives the SCE may assign a second value to it. The firstand second values may be the same as or differ from each other. Thecomputer system may generate various metrics based on one or more SCEs.For example, the computer system may generate a single SCE score for auser based on variables such as the number and value of SCEs the userhas sent and received. SCEs may be used to recognize positive and/ornegative social behaviors by users of the system, to encourage suchusers to engage in additional positive social behaviors, and todiscourage such users from engaging in additional negative socialbehaviors.

For example, one embodiment of the present invention is directed to amethod comprising: (A) receiving data representing a first count of afirst plurality of social currency event data structures created by afirst user, wherein the first plurality of social currency event datastructures includes data representing first values of the firstplurality of social currency event data structures to the first user;(B) receiving data representing a second count of a second plurality ofsocial currency event data structures addressed to the first user,wherein the second plurality of social currency event data structuresincludes data representing second values of the second plurality ofsocial currency event data structures to the first user; and (C)calculating a score associated with the first user based on at least twoof the first count, the second count, the first values, and the secondvalues.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a methodcomprising: (A) receiving data representing a first plurality of socialcurrency event data structures, wherein the first plurality of socialcurrency event data structures includes: data representing first valuesof the first plurality of social currency event data structures to afirst plurality of users; data representing second values of the firstplurality of social currency event data structures to a second pluralityof users; and data representing a first plurality of existing values ofat least one first field shared by the first plurality of socialcurrency event data structures; (B) identifying a first subset of thefirst plurality of social currency event data structures based on thefirst plurality of existing values of the at least one first fieldshared by the plurality of social currency event data structures; (C)calculating a first value of a statistic based on the first subset ofthe first plurality of social currency event data structures; (D)identifying a first plurality of existing values of a second fieldshared by the first plurality of social currency event data structures;and (E) calculating a first plurality of normalized values of the secondfield based on the first value of the statistic and the first pluralityof existing values of the second field.

Other features and advantages of various aspects and embodiments of thepresent invention will become apparent from the following descriptionand from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustration of a template of a data structure that isused to store social currency events (SCEs) according to one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 1B is an illustration of a template of a data structure that isused to represent individual social currency event account holders(SCEAHs) according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a dataflow diagram of a system for creating SCEs according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method that is performed by the system ofFIG. 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a dialog box that is used by a sender of an SCE toprovide input for creating an SCE according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a dialog box that is used to display a notificationto a recipient of an SCE that the SCE has been send to the recipientaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a dialog box that is used to receive input from arecipient of an SCE in response to receipt of a notification of the SCEaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a dialog box that is used to notify a sender of anSCE that a recipient of the SCE has accepted the SCE according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a dialog box that is used to enable a recipient of anSCE to invite one or more people to follow the recipient's SCEsaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates a dialog box that is used to receive input from anSCEAH to generate a request by the SCEAH to become a follower of anotherSCEAH according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 illustrates a dialog box that is used to display information toan SCEAH about that SCEAH's followers and to receive input from theSCEAH to manage the SCEAH's followers according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 illustrates a dialog box that is used to display information toan SCEAH about who that SCEAH is following and to receive input from theSCEAH to manage the SCEAHs who the SCEAH is following according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates a dialog box that is used to provide SCE creationinput for creating an automatically-triggered self-directed SCEaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates a dialog box that is used by an SCEAH to accept thecreation of an automatically-generated self-directed SCE according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 illustrates a dialog box that is used to display information toan SCEAH about that SCEAH's self-directed SCEs and to receive input fromthe SCEAH to manage the SCEAH's self-directed SCEs according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 illustrates a dialog box that is used to display information toan SCEAH about SCEs that the SCEAH has created and/or received accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a dialog box that is used to provide SCE creationinput for creating an multi-SCEAH automatically-triggered SCE accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 illustrates a dialog box that is used to display information toan SCEAH about recurring SCEs that the SCEAH has created according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 18A-18C illustrate various visual representations of informationthat has been generated based on a plurality of SCEs according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 19A-19B illustrate various metrics related to SCEs according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 illustrates a user interface for displaying a social currencyscore of a particular SCEAH and particular sub-scores which were used tocalculate the social currency score according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 21 illustrates the calculation of a sender-recipient value ratioand of a recipient-sender value ratio for a particular SCE according toone embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 illustrates a list containing information about SCEs received bya particular recipient according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 illustrates visual representations of metrics for use incomparing SCEs to each other according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 24 illustrates automatic population of fields in an SCE based oncontents of an email message according to one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 25 illustrates examples of visual output representing scorescalculated by various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Financial currency has shaped human civilization. It has facilitatedtrade, enabled economic value creation to be measured, and enabledfinancial wealth to be stored. Traditional financial currency, however,fails to account for, embrace, and encourage a variety of fundamentalcomponents of human social interactions. Embodiments of the presentinvention address these problems with traditional financial currency byproviding computer-implemented systems and methods for creating,storing, exchanging, valuing, and performing other operations on a newkind of social currency, which has features and benefits that differfundamentally from those of traditional financial currencies. Individualinstances of such social currency are referred to herein as “socialcurrency events.”

Embodiments of the present invention may create and otherwise manage aplurality of SCEs. Each SCE may, for example, be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium, such as in a data structurestored in a disk drive, memory (e.g., RAM or flash memory), or opticalstorage medium. Referring to FIG. 1A, an illustration is shown of atemplate of a data structure 102 that may be used to store SCEs. Theelement 102 in FIG. 1A is referred to herein as a template because it isintended to illustrate the structure (e.g., fields and data types) thatmay be used to store SCEs, rather than to illustrate any particularvalues of those fields. Particular instances of the data structuretemplate 102 may contain particular values in some or all of the fieldsshown in FIG. 1A. For ease of explanation, the element 102 may bereferred to herein simply as a data structure, rather than as a datastructure template.

As will become clear from the description herein, the computerimplementation of embodiments of the present invention is not merelyincidental to the present invention, but rather is an integral andinseparable part of the present invention. Although in theory it mightbe possible to implement certain aspects of embodiments of the presentinvention using non-computer-implemented currency, such implementationswould be impractical at best and completely lacking in utility at worst.For example, embodiments of the present invention which calculate valuesof individual SCEs in real-time based on a wide variety of inputsreceived from large numbers of users over a computer network, and whichthen make such calculated values available to large numbers of usersover a network (such as the Internet) instantaneously, would be entirelyimpractical to implement without the use of computers andtelecommunication networks. The act of implementing embodiments of thepresent invention using one or more computers, therefore, does notmerely implement in a computer certain features which would otherwise beimplementable without a computer, but instead imbues embodiments of thepresent invention with features and benefits which would be lacking innon-computer implementations.

The term “social currency event account holder” (SCEAH) is used hereinto refer to any entity that may have an account within the system 200,and which may, therefore, create, edit, delete, send, access and/orperform other actions on SCEs. A SCEAH may, for example, be a human, acomputer program, a computing device, or any combination thereof. Thevalues of the fields in any particular social currency event may beobtained from any such kind of SCEAH and/or from a non-SCEAH (such as acomputer program that is not an SCEAH). A single SCE may include somefields having values obtained from a human user and other fieldsobtained from a computer program and/or computing device.

The data structure 102 may contain any one or more of the followingfields (in which “the SCE” refers to a social currency event that is aninstance of the data structure 102):

-   -   “From” field 104 a: The value of the “from” field 104 a of an        SCE represents one or more senders of the SCE. For example, if        user Green sends an SCE to user Blue, then the value of the        “from” field 104 a of the SCE may represent user Green. The        value of the “from” field 104 a may represent the sender in any        of a variety of ways, such as by including any one or more of        the real name, email address or other online identifier, mailing        address, telephone number, or other unique identifier of the        sender.    -   “From Value” field 104 b: The value of the “from value” field        104 b of an SCE represents a value assigned by each of the        senders (i.e., the user represented by the “from” field 104 a of        the instance of the data structure 102) to the SCE. The values        assigned by multiple senders of the instance of the data        structure 102 may be the same as or differ from each other.    -   “To” field 104 c: The value of the “to” field 104 c of an SCE        represents one or more recipients of that SCE. For example, if        user Green sends the SCE to user Blue, then the value of the        “to” field 104 c of the instance may represent user Blue. The        value of the “to” field 104 c may represent the recipient in any        of a variety of ways, such as in any of the ways described above        with respect to the “from” field 104 a.    -   “To Value” field 104 d: The value of the “to value” field 104 d        of an SCE represents a value assigned by each of the recipients        (i.e., the user represented by the “to” field 104 c of the SCE)        to the SCE. The values assigned by multiple recipients of the        SCE may be the same as or differ from each other. As will be        described in more detail below, a derived value of an SCE may be        derived from multiple values assigned to the SCE by multiple        parties, such as the “From Value” assigned by the sender of the        SCE and the “To Value” assigned by the recipient of the SCE.        Generating and assigning such a derived value to a unit of        currency based on multiple values assigned to that currency by        multiple parties differs fundamentally from the way in which        traditional financial currencies are valued.    -   “Date” field 104 e: The value of the “date” field 104 e of an        SCE represents a date and time of creation of the SCE by the        sender of the SCE.    -   “Category” field 104 f: The value of the “category” field 104 f        of an SCE represents a class, category, tag, or label of the        SCE. The value of the category field 104 f may represent        multiple classes, categories, tags, or labels. Categories that        may be assigned to an SCE may include system-defined and/or        user-defined categories. Categories may, for example, represent        relationships between SCEAHs (e.g., the sender 202 and recipient        204 of an SCE), such as family, friend, co-worker, boss, and        direct report. Although only one category field 104 f is shown        in FIG. 1 for purposes of example, an SCE may include multiple        category fields, such as a distinct category field for each        SCEAH associated with the SCE (e.g., the sender 202 and the        recipient 204 of the SCE). The values of such distinct category        fields may be the same as or differ from each other. For        example, if the sender 202 and recipient 204 are brothers, then        the category field 104 f of the SCE may contain a value of        “family” for the sender 202 and a value of “family” for the        recipient 204. As another example, if the sender 202 is the boss        of the recipient 204, then the category field 104 f of the SCE        may contain a value of “boss” for the sender and a value of        “direct report” for the recipient 204.    -   “Creation Location” field 104 l: The value of the “creation        location” field 104 l of an SCE represents a location associated        with the creation of the SCE, such as a location of the device        used by the sender of the SCE to create the SCE. Location        information stored in fields 104 g and/or 104 l may include any        one or more of the following: latitude and longitude; street        address; generic name of a location (e.g., “Work,” “Home,”        “Gym,” “Restaurant”); and specific name of a location (e.g.,        “State Treasurer's Office,” “Home in Arlington,” “NY Athletic        Club,” “The Elephant Walk Restaurant”).    -   “Location History” field 104 g: The value of the “location        history” field 104 g of an SCE represents one or more locations        associated with the SCE over time. Location information stored        in fields 104 g and/or 104 l may include any one or more of the        following: latitude and longitude; street address; generic name        of a location (e.g., “Work,” “Home,” “Gym,” “Restaurant”); and        specific name of a location (e.g., “State Treasurer's Office,”        “Home in Arlington,” “NY Athletic Club,” “The Elephant Walk        Restaurant”).    -   “Private” field 104 h: The value of the “private” field 104 h of        an SCE indicates whether or not the SCE (or certain fields        therein) is private. A private SCE may be accessible by only the        SCE's sender and recipient, whereas a non-private SCE may be        accessible by anyone, including people other than the instance's        sender and recipient. The private field 104 h of an SCE may        include information specifying which of the fields in the SCE        are private.    -   “Description” field 104 i: The value of the “description” field        104 i of an SCE represents a human-readable description of the        SCE.    -   “Transferred Value” field 104 j: The value(s) of the        “transferred value” field 104 j of an SCE represents the        value(s) assigned to that instance by the SCEAH(s) to which the        SCE was transferred. The values assigned by multiple transferees        of an SCE may be the same as or differ from each other.    -   “Shared Value” field 104 k: The value(s) of the “shared value”        field 104 k of an SCE represents the value(s) assigned to that        instance by the SCEAH(s) with which the SCE was shared. The        values assigned by multiple such SCEAHs may be the same as or        differ from each other.    -   “Creation Device” field 104 m: The value of the “creation        device” field 104 m of an SCE represents information about the        device that was used to create the SCE, such as one or more of        the following: physical device type (e.g., make and/or model,        such as iPhone 4S); operating system type and/or version number        (e.g., iOS 5.1.1); MAC address and/or IP address; and creation        application and/or version number (e.g., SNAP v1.0).    -   “Creation Reason” field 104 n: The value of the “creation        reason” field 104 n of an SCE represents one or more reasons for        creating the SCE.    -   “Current Owner” field 104 o: The value of the “current owner”        field 104 o of an SCE indicates which SCEAH(s) is/are the        current owner(s) of the SCE. When an SCE is created, the system        200 may designate the recipient 204 of the SCE as the SCE's        current owner. Such ownership may change over time, however, in        response to the SCE being rejected, ignored, transferred, or        shared.    -   “State” field 104 p: The value of the “state” field 104 p of an        SCE may contain data representing the current state of the SCE.        Examples of state include: saved in draft form but not yet sent,        sent and awaiting action by the recipient, and acted upon by the        recipient (e.g., accepted, rejected, ignored, marked as spam,        transferred, or shared).    -   “State History” field 104 q: The “state history” field 104 q of        an SCE may contain data representing the past state of the SCE,        including one or more actions performed on the SCE over time.        For example, when a new value is stored in the “state” field 104        p, the old value of the “state” field may be added to the “state        history” field 104 q. Such past states may be stored in the        “state history” field 104 q in a manner which enables their        relative time of applicability to be determined, such as by        storing a date and/or time in association with each such state.        Additional contextual data may be stored in association with        each such state, such as the location associated with the state        (e.g., a location at which an action was performed), a device        associated with the state (e.g., the device which performed an        action), the reason for the state, etc. For each action stored        in the state history field 104 q, one or more of the following        data may be stored: data representing the type of action that        was performed (e.g., sent, accepted, rejected) and the SCEAH(s)        associated with the action (e.g., the sender 202 and/or        recipient 204).    -   “Followers” field 104 r: The “followers” field 104 r of an SCE        may contain data representing all of the SCEAHs who are        following or tracking the SCE, such as in the form of the user        IDs of such SCEAHs.    -   “Interactions” field 104 s: The “interactions” field 104 s of an        SCE may contain data representing statistics related to the SCE,        such as the SCEAH IDs of SCEAHs who have interacted with the        SCE, frequency of interactions with e.g., views of the SCE,        locations of such interactions, and devices used to conduct such        interactions.    -   “Event Location” field 104 z: The “event location” field 104 z        of an SCE stores the physical location of the event upon which        the SCE is based. Location information stored in field 104 z may        include any one or more of the following: latitude and        longitude; street address; generic name of a location (e.g.,        “Work,” “Home,” “Gym,” “Restaurant”); and specific name of a        location (e.g., “State Treasurer's Office,” “Home in Arlington,”        “NY Athletic Club,” “The Elephant Walk Restaurant”).    -   “SCE Date”: The “event date” field 104 aa of an SCE stores the        date on which the event represented by the SCE was performed        (e.g., completed). Although the values of the date created field        104 e and the event date field 104 aa may be the same as each        other, they may differ from each other.    -   “Effort Rank”: The “effort rank” field 104 ab of an SCE stores        data representing a level of effort that was required to        complete the event upon which the SCE is based.

As will be described in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 12 and16, the system 200 may create SCEs automatically in response tosatisfaction of one or more trigger conditions. The following fields maybe used in conjunction with such automatically-triggered SCEs:

-   -   “Alert Time Trigger” field 104 t: The “alert time trigger” field        104 t of an SCE may contain data representing a time condition        (e.g., a particular time of day), the satisfaction of which will        cause the system 200 to generate a copy of the SCE.    -   “Location Trigger” field 104 u: The “location trigger” field 104        u of an SCE may contain data representing a location condition        (e.g., a particular named location or GPS coordinates), the        satisfaction of which will cause the system 200 to generate a        copy of the SCE.    -   “Location Trigger Attributes” field 104 v: The “location trigger        attributes” field 104 v of an SCE may contain data representing        one or more attributes of the location represented by the        location trigger field 104 u. Examples of location trigger        attributes include “upon arrival” and “upon departure.” If the        “location trigger attributes” field 104 v contains a value, then        the system 200 will create a copy of the SCE only when the        current location of the SCE's current owner satisfies the        conditions specified by the “location trigger” field 104 u and        the “location trigger attributes” field 104 v.    -   “Recurrence Pattern” field 104 w: The “recurrence pattern” field        104 w of an SCE may contain data representing a pattern        according to which copies of the SCE should be generated by the        system. Examples of values of the “recurrence pattern” field 104        w include one time, daily, weekly, semi-annually, and annually.    -   “Start Date” field 104 x: The “start date” field 104 x of an SCE        may contain data representing the date on which to start        generating copies of the SCE.    -   “End Date” field 104 y: The “end date” field 104 y of an SCE may        contain data representing the date on which to stop generating        copies of the SCE.

The particular fields shown in FIG. 1A are merely an example and do notconstitute a limitation of the present invention. Any particular SCE maycontain all of the fields shown in FIG. 1A, some of the fields shown inFIG. 1A but not others, fields in addition to those shown in FIG. 1A, orany combination thereof. Any two SCEs may have the same or differentfields as each other. For example, one SCE may have all of the fieldsshown in FIG. 1A, whereas another SCE may have all of the fields shownin FIG. 1A except for the creation location field 104 l. The value ofany particular field in one SCE may be the same as or differ from thevalue of the same field in another SCE.

Referring to FIG. 1B, an illustration is shown of a template of a datastructure 152 that may be used to represent individual SCEAHs. Asmentioned above, an SCEAH may be human or non-human (e.g., a computerprogram or computing device). The values of the fields in any particularinstance of the data structure 152 of FIG. 1B may be obtained from anykind of SCEAH and/or from a non-SCEAH (such as a computer program thatis not an SCEAH). A single instance of the data structure 152 of FIG. 1Bmay include some fields having values obtained from a human user andother fields obtained from a computer program and/or computing device.Although the data structure 152, and instances thereof, may be referredto herein as “SCEAHs” for ease of explanation, it should be understandthat an SCEAH is an account holder (such as a human account holder),whereas the data structure 152, and instances thereof, are datastructures for representing SCEAHs. The data structure 152 may includethe following fields:

-   -   “Name” field 154 a: The value of the “name” field 154 a of an        SCEAH data structure may represent a name of the SCEAH (such as        the real, human-readable, name of the SCEAH).    -   “Unique User ID” field 154 b: The value of the “unique user ID”        field 154 b of an SCEAH data structure may represent an ID of        the SCEAH data structure that is unique among all SCEAH data        structures within the system 200.    -   “Contact Information” field 154 c: The “contact information”        field 154 c of an SCEAH data structure contains contact        information for the SCEAH, such as one or more of the following:        email address, mailing address, and telephone number.    -   “Demographic Data” field 154 d: The “demographic data” field 154        d of an SCEAH data structure contains demographic data related        to the SCEAH, such as one or more of the following: gender, age,        ethnicity, race, education level(s), language proficiency,        disability, home ownership, employment status, family size,        occupation, employer, and income level.    -   “Psychographic Data” field 154 e: The “psychographic data” field        154 e of an SCEAH data structure contains psychographic data        related to the SCEAH, such as one or more of the following: the        SCEAH's personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests,        activities, and lifestyles.    -   “Affiliations” field 154 f: The “affiliations” field 154 f of an        SCEAH data structure contains data representing one or more        organizations with which the SCEAH is affiliated, such as one or        more of the following: employers, colleges, sports teams, houses        of worship, trade groups, professional organizations, clubs,        fraternities, towns of residence, charities, and political        parties.    -   “Followers” field 154 g: The “followers” field 154 g of an SCEAH        data structure contains data representing the follower(s) of the        SCEAH.    -   “Following” field 154 h: The “following” field 154 h of an SCEAH        data structure contains data representing the SCEAHs being        followed by the SCEAH represented by the SCEAH data structure.

Having generally described certain features of embodiments of datastructures that may be used to implement SCEs and SCEAHs according toembodiments of the present invention, examples of techniques forcreating and managing SCEs will now be described. Referring to FIG. 2, adataflow diagram is shown of a system 200 for creating SCEs according toone embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, aflowchart is shown of a method 300 that is performed by the system 200of FIG. 2 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

A first user 202 of the system 200 may use the system 200 to create asocial currency event (SCE). As will be described in more detail below,the first user 202 may use the system 200 both to create the SCE and tocause the system 200 to send the SCE to a second user 204 of the system200. For this reason, the first user 202 may be referred to herein as a“sender” of the SCE and the second user 204 may be referred to as a“recipient” of the SCE. Such labels, however, are merely illustrativeand do not constitute limitations of the present invention. The firstuser 202 may, for example, create a SCE without sending it to anotheruser. Whether or not a sender who creates an SCE sends that SCE to arecipient, the sender may do so for the purpose of: (1) praising,thanking, encouraging, or otherwise conveying a positive social messageto and/or about the recipient; or, to the contrary, (2) discouraging andconveying a negative social message to and/or about the recipient.

The sender 202 provides SCE creation input 206 to a first computingdevice 205 a (FIG. 3, operation 302). The computing device 205 a, andany other computing device disclosed herein, may be any kind ofcomputing device, such as a desktop computer, laptop computer, tabletcomputer, or smartphone. The social currency event creation input 206may include any of a variety of data for storage in, or otherwise foruse in the creation of, a data structure representing a new SCE. Forexample, the input 206 may include data representing values of any oneor more of the fields 104 a-ab shown in FIG. 1A.

For example, referring to FIG. 4, the computing device 205 a may displayto the sender 202 a dialog box 400 that the sender 202 may use toprovide the SCE creation input 206. More specifically, in the example ofFIG. 4, the dialog box 400 contains:

-   -   a “to” text field 402, into which the sender 202 may type or        otherwise input an email address or other identifier of the        intended recipient 204 of the SCE to be created (and for storage        in the “to” field 104 c of that SCE);    -   a “date” field 404, the contents of which may be filled        automatically with the current date by the computing device 205        a, and/or into which the sender 202 may type or otherwise input        a date on which the event upon which the SCE is based (and for        storage in the “event date” field 104 aa of that SCE);    -   a “description” field 406, into which the sender 202 may type or        otherwise input a human-readable description of the SCE to be        created (and for storage in the “description” field 104 i of        that SCE);    -   a “description pick list” 408, from which the sender 202 may        select a predetermined description, thereby causing the selected        description to be copied into the “description” field 406 of        that SCE;    -   a “categories” field 416, into which the sender 202 may provide        input representing zero, one, or more categories of the SCE (for        storage in the “category” field 104 f of the SCE);    -   a “location” field 407, into which the sender 202 may type or        otherwise input data representing a location of the event upon        which the SCE is based (and for storage in the event location        field 104 z of that SCE);    -   a “reason” field 409, into which the sender 202 may type or        otherwise input data representing a reason for creating the SCE        (and for storage in the creation reason field 104 n of that        SCE);    -   a “value” field 410, into which the sender 202 may type or        otherwise input a value, to the sender 202, of the SCE to be        created (and for storage in the “from value” field 104 b of that        SCE); and    -   a “private” field 412, which the sender 202 may check or uncheck        to indicate whether the SCE to be create is private (and for        storage in the “private” field 104 h of that SCE).

Upon completing data entry into the dialog box 400, the sender 202 mayclick on the “Send” button or otherwise provide input indicating thatthe sender 202 has finished inputting the input 206. In response, thecomputing device 205 a may provide the SCE creation input 206 to an SCEmanagement module 210, such as by transmitting the input 206 to themodule 210 over a network 208 (such as the public Internet or a privateintranet) (FIG. 3, operation 304). The computing device 205 a mayinclude additional information in the SCE creation input 206automatically (i.e., without requiring such information to be input bythe sender 202), for inclusion in the SCE to be created. Examples ofsuch information include an email address or other identifier of thesender 202 (for inclusion in the “from” field 104 a) and a location ofthe sender 202, which may, for example, be obtained from a GPS module ofthe sender 202's computing device 205 a (for inclusion in the creationlocation field 104 l).

In response to receiving the SCE creation input 206, the module 210 maycreate a new SCE based on the input 206, such as by creating a new emptySCE and copying the field values input by the sender 202 into thecorresponding fields in the newly-created SCE (FIG. 3, operation 306).The module 210 may store the newly-created SCE in an SCE store 212.Assume, for purposes of example, that the SCE created by the sender 202according to FIG. 4 is stored as unit 214 a in the store 212. As shownin FIG. 2, the store 212 includes SCEs 214 b-n in addition to the unit214 a created by the sender 202 via FIG. 4. The store 212 may includeany number of SCEs, created by any number and combination of users.

Although all of the SCEs 214 a-n in the system 200 are shown as beingstored in the SCE store 212 in FIG. 2, this is merely an example anddoes not constitute a limitation of the present invention. SCEs may,additionally or alternatively, be stored elsewhere in the system 200.For example, any particular SCE may be stored in the store 212, thesender's computing device 205 a, and/or the recipient's computing device205 b. Any particular SCE may be stored in a single location, orreplicated at multiple locations. For example, a particular SCE may bestored solely in the sender's computing device 205 a. As anotherexample, copies of a particular SCE may be stored in the sender'scomputing device 205 a, the recipient's computing device 205 b, and thestore 212. Multiple “copies” of a particular SCE need not all containthe same information as each other. For example, a “master” copy of aparticular SCE may be stored in the store 212, while additional copies,containing less than all of the information in the master copy, may bestored in the sender's computing device 205 a, the recipient's computingdevice 205 b, the computing device of another SCEAH, and/or thecomputing device of a user who is not an SCEAH. Those having ordinaryskill in the art will understand how to store SCEs in these and otherways.

The system 200 may provide the recipient 204 with a notification 216that the sender 202 has created an SCE (namely, SCE 214 a) whichdesignates recipient 204 as the recipient (FIG. 3, operation 308). Themodule 210 may, for example, transmit the notification 216 to therecipient 204's computing device 205 b over the network 208. The module210 may, for example, transmit the notification 216 to the recipient204's computing device 205 b automatically, in response to the creationof the SCE 214 a. In response to receiving the notification 216, therecipient 204's computing device 205 b may display the notification 216,or information derived therefrom, to the recipient 204. The notification216 may take any of a variety of forms, such as a message transmitted tothe recipient 204 (e.g., an email, text, voice, or video message), apop-up window, or an alert displayed or otherwise manifested by adedicated application executing on the recipient's computing device 205b.

An example of such a display of the notification 216 is shown in FIG. 5,which illustrates a dialog box 500 that the computing device 205 b mayuse to display the notification 216 to the recipient 204 and to receiveinput from the recipient 204 in response. The dialog box 500 informs therecipient 204:

-   -   that the sender 202 has sent the SCE 214 a to the recipient 204        through the use of text 502, which includes the email address or        other identifier of the sender 202;    -   of the “event date” field 104 aa of the SCE 214 a via field 504;    -   of the “description” field 104 i of the SCE 214 a via field 506;    -   of the “category” field 104 f of the SCE 214 a via fields 508;        and    -   of the “private” field 104 h of the SCE 214 a via checkbox 510.

The module 210 may populate the contents of fields 502, 504, 506, 508,and 510 automatically from fields 104 a, 104 aa, 104 i, 104 f, and 104h, respectively, of the SCE 214 a.

The dialog box 500 may also provide various mechanisms for the recipient204 to provide input containing data that may be used by the system 200to supplement and/or modify the contents of the SCE 214 a (FIG. 3,operation 310). For example, the recipient 204 may provide input intocategory fields 512 to specify one or more categories to associate withthe SCE 214 a, in addition to any categories already assigned to the SCE214 a by the sender 202 (e.g., via category field 416 in the dialog box400). As FIGS. 4 and 5 imply, both the sender 202 and recipient 204 mayassign categories to the SCE 214 a. As a result, the value(s) stored inthe category field 104 f of the SCE 214 a may include value(s) providedby the sender 202, values provided by the recipient 204, or acombination of both the sender 202 and recipient 204.

As another example, the dialog box 500 may include a field 514 intowhich the recipient 204 may type or otherwise input a perceived value ofthe SCE 214 a to the recipient 204. The recipient 204 may select button516 a or otherwise provide input indicating that the recipient 204accepts the SCE 214 a from the sender 202, in response to which therecipient 204's computing device 205 b may provide response input 218 tothe module 210, such as by transmitting the input 218 to the module 210over the network 208 (FIG. 3, operation 312). The input 218 may, forexample, include the data input by the recipient 204 into fields 512 and514, and data indicating that the recipient 204 has accepted the SCE 214a. In response to receiving the input 218 (FIG. 3, operation 314), themodule 210 may update the SCE 214 a to contain data representing thecontents of fields 512 and 514 (such as by storing the category datafrom fields 512 into the category field 104 f of the SCE 214 a andstoring the recipient value data from field 514 into the “to value”field 104 d of the SCE 214 a), and update the SCE 214 a to store dataindicating that the recipient 204 has accepted the SCE 214 a (FIG. 3,operation 316).

As the dialog boxes 400 and 500 of FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively, makeclear, the sender 202 of the SCE 214 a may assign a different value tothe SCE 214 a than the recipient 204 of the same SCE 214 a. In contrast,traditional assets (e.g., an orange, a car, a house, or a share ofstock) are traditionally given a definitive value in terms of anaccepted monetary unit (e.g., U.S. Dollars, EU Euros, or British PoundsSterling), based on a purchase and sale transaction, whereby a willingbuyer and a willing seller (i.e., transacting parties) agree upon adefined number of monetary units to enable a sale to take place (i.e., a“meeting of the minds”). This definitive value can be, but need not be,influenced in whole or in part by external price signals. For example,in the case of a stock purchase and sale, the stock price may beinfluenced by the bid, the ask, the trading volume, analyst reports, andfinancial forecasts. Like a traditional asset, an SCE may initially begiven a definitive unit value. However, since in the case of an SCEthere is a creation and acceptance transaction rather than a purchaseand sale transaction, there need not be a “meeting of the minds” inconnection with the initial value of an SCE. As a result, in comparisonto the single shared value ascribed to a traditional asset bytransacting parties following a transaction, an SCE may have multiplediffering unit values assigned to it by the transacting parties, asevidenced by the sender 202's “Value of SCE” field 410 and corresponding“From Value” field 104 b, and the recipient 204's “Value of SCE” 514 andcorresponding “To Value” field 104 d.

The dialog box 500 also includes effort rank field 518, into which therecipient 204 may type or otherwise input data representing a level ofeffort that was required to complete the event upon which the SCE 214 ais based. The value provided by the recipient 204 may be stored in theeffort rank field 104 ab (FIG. 1A) of the SCE 214 a. Although FIG. 5only shows a single effort rank field 518 for completion by therecipient 204, in practice the effort rank field 104 ab of the SCE 214 amay store data representing effort ranks provided by any number ofsenders and/or recipients of the SCE 214 a.

The recipient 204 may take actions other than accepting the positivesocial current unit in response to receiving notification of the SCE 214a. As a result, the response input 218 may indicate actions by therecipient 204 other than acceptance of the SCE 214 a. For example, asshown in FIG. 5, the recipient 204 may select any of buttons 516 b-d asfollows:

-   -   Spam button 516 b. The recipient 204 may select the “spam”        button 516 b to indicate that the recipient 204 considers the        SCE 214 a to be spam, in response to which the module 210 may        store an indication that the recipient 204 considers the SCE 214        a to be spam, and take any action conventionally taken in        connection with spam (such as preventing the sender 202 from        sending additional social currency events to the recipient 204        and/or to other recipients in the system 200).    -   Reject button 516 c. The recipient 204 may select the “reject”        button 516 c to indicate that the recipient 204 rejects the SCE        214 a, in response to which the module 210 may store an        indication that the recipient 204 has rejected the SCE 214 a, as        a result of which the SCE 214 a may be excluded from reporting,        calculations, and other actions in connection with the recipient        204 (possibly by removing the recipient 204's identifier from        the “to” field 104 c of the SCE 214 a). The module 210 may        notify the sender 202 that the recipient 204 has rejected the        SCE 214 a.    -   Transfer button 516 d. The recipient 204 may select the        “transfer” button 516 d to indicate that the recipient 204        wishes to transfer the recipient status of the SCE 214 a to        another user. For example, the recipient 204 may select the        transfer button 516 d and provide input representing an        identifier (e.g., username or email address) of another user, in        response to which the module 210 may change the value of the        “to” field 104 c of the SCE 214 a to indicate the identifier of        the other user. A user to whom the SCE 214 a is transferred is        an example of a “third party” to the SCE 214 a, as that term is        used herein.    -   Ignore button 516 e. The recipient 204 may select the “ignore”        button 516 e, which may cause the module 210 to take similar        actions as those taken in response to the “reject” button 516 c,        except that the module 210 may not notify the sender 202 that        the recipient 204 has ignored the SCE 214 a.    -   Share button 516 f. The recipient 204 may select the “share”        button 516 f and provide input representing an identifier of        another user, which may cause the module 210 to take similar        actions as those taken in response to the “transfer” button 516        d, except that the module 210 may add the specified other user        as an owner of the SCE 214 a, while keeping the original        recipient 204 as an additional owner. As a result of such        sharing, the SCE 214 a will have two owners, including both the        original recipient 204 and the other user specified by the        recipient 204. The recipient 204 may also provide an ownership        percentage in association with the other user, in response to        which the module 210 may add the other user as a recipient of        the SCE 214 a with the specified ownership percentage, and        assign the remaining ownership percentage to the original        recipient 204. Similar techniques may be applied if the        recipient 204 provides input instructing the module 210 to share        the SCE 214 a with multiple other users. A user with whom the        SCE 214 a is shared is an example of a “third party” to the SCE        214 a, as that term is used herein.

The dialog box 500 may also include one or more application-specificfields 520. The application-specific fields 520 are shown as a singletext box in FIG. 5, but may take any form. Any input provided by therecipient 204 into the application-specific fields 520 may be providedto the module 210, which may in turn provide such input to an externalsoftware application. In addition, the module 210 may store such inputinternally, e.g., in the SCE 214 a. As mentioned above, the creator(e.g., sender 202) of the SCE 214 a may be a computer program orcomputing device. In such cases, the module 210 may provide the contentsof some or all of the fields of the SCE 214 a, such as theapplication-specific fields 520, to the program/device which created theSCE 214 a. Upon the recipient 204's acceptance of the SCE 214 a, thesystem 200 may provide the recipient 204 with an opportunity to notifyothers that the SCE 214 a has been created and sent to the recipient204. An example of such a display of the notification 216 is shown inFIG. 6, which illustrates a dialog box 600 that the computing device 205b may use to display the notification 216 to the recipient 204 and toreceive input from the recipient 204 in response. The dialog box 600reminds the recipient 204 that the sender 202 has sent the SCE 214 a tothe recipient 204 through the use of text 602, which includes the emailaddress or other identifier of the sender 202. The dialog box 600 alsoincludes various fields 604 for enabling the recipient 204 to provideinput specifying one or more people whom the recipient 204 wishes tonotify of the SCE 214 a. The dialog box 600 also includes a text field606 into which the recipient 204 may type a human-readable text messageto be provided to the people specified in fields 604. The dialog box 600also includes a checkbox 608 which the recipient 204 may check toindicate that the people specified in fields 604 should not be allowedto notify others of the SCE 214 a.

If the recipient 204 wishes to notify others of the SCE 214 a, therecipient 204 may provide input into some or all of the fields 604, 606,and 608, and then select a “Notify” button 610 or otherwise provideinput indicating a desire to notify others of the SCE 214 a. In responseto receiving such input 220 from the recipient 204, the recipient 204'scomputing device 205 b may provide such input 218 to the module 210,such as by transmitting the input 220 to the module 210 over the network208. In response to receiving the input 220, the module 210 may performone or more of the following:

-   -   provide notifications of the SCE 214 a to the person or people        specified by the recipient 204 via the dialog box 500;    -   provide notifications of the SCE 214 a to the sender 202 of the        SCE;    -   notify one or more applications (e.g., client applications)        associated with the SCE 214 a; and    -   update a Facebook page, other social network account, or other        applications of the sender 202 and/or recipient 204 with a        notification of the SCE 214 a.

Upon, and automatically in response to, the recipient 204's acceptanceof the SCE 214 a, the system 200 may also provide the sender 202 with anotification 222 that the recipient 204 has accepted the SCE 214 a. Forexample, the module 210 may transmit the notification 222 to the sender202's computing device 205 a over the network 208. In response toreceiving the notification 222, the sender 202's computing device 205 amay display the notification 222 to the sender 202. An example of such adisplay of the notification 222 is shown in FIG. 7, which illustrates adialog box 700 that the computing device 205 a may use to display thenotification 222 to the recipient 204. The dialog box 700 notifies thesender 202 that the recipient 204 has accepted the SCE 214 a sent by thesender 202 through the use of text 702, which includes the email addressor other identifier of the recipient 204. The dialog box 700 alsoincludes field 704, which reminds the sender 202 of the descriptionprovided by the sender 202 of the SCE 214 a. The dialog box 700 alsocontains a list 706 of the people who the recipient 204 notified of theSCE 214 a. The dialog box 700 also displays to the sender 202 the value708 assigned by the recipient 204 to the SCE 214 a. As the examples inFIGS. 5 and 7 demonstrate, the value assigned by the sender 202 to theSCE 214 a may differ from the value assigned by the recipient 204 to thesame SCE 214 a.

The system 200 may provide the recipient 204 with a mechanism forenabling other users of the system 200 to “follow” any social currencyevents received by the recipient 204 (such as SCE 214 a). Referring toFIG. 8, an example is shown of a dialog box 800 that the system 200 maydisplay to the recipient 204 to enable the recipient 204 to invite oneor more people to follow the recipient 204's SCEs. In its most basicform, the dialog box 800 provides a means for the recipient 204 toprovide the identities of one or more invitees, such as fields 802, intowhich the recipient 204 may provide information for each such invitee,such as a real name, email address or other online identifier, andcategory designation(s). The dialog box 800 also includes a field 804into which a message template may be automatically inserted by themodule 210, and which the recipient 204 may edit manually. Once therecipient 204 has finished providing input into the dialog box 800, therecipient 204 may select an invite button 806 or otherwise provide inputindicating that input into the dialog box 800 is complete. The recipient204's computing device 205 b may provide invitation input 224(representing the information provided by the recipient 204 in thedialog box 800) to the module 210, such as by transmitting the input 224to the module over the network 208.

In response to receiving the invitation input 224, the module 210 mayprovide one or more invitations 226 to the invitee(s) 228 specified bythe recipient 204, such as by transmitting the invitations 226 to theinvitees 228 over the network 208. In response, each of the invitees 228may provide a response indicating whether the invitee accepts or rejectsthe corresponding invitation. The module 210 may receive the responsesand update the SCE 214 a accordingly to contain data indicating which ofthe invitees 228 accepted their respective invitations. Once this listof followers has been stored in the SCE 214 a (e.g., in the followersfield 104 r) and in the SCEAH record of the recipient 204 (e.g., in thefollowers field 154 g), the module 210 may automatically notify theinvitees 228 of any changes to data in the store 212 relating to therecipient 204, such as the creation of new SCEs for which the recipient204 is a recipient and/or sender, and the modification of any data tosuch SCEs.

Conversely, a user of the system 200 may request to become a follower ofanother SCEAH within the system 200. For example, an SCEAH may requestto become a follower of the recipient 204. FIG. 9 shows an example of adialog box 900 that may be used to receive input from an SCEAH forgenerating a request by the SCEAH to become a follower of another SCEAH.Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate how the system200 may use the dialog box 900 to enable one SCEAH to become a followerof another SCEAH.

An SCEAH of the system 200 who has followers may use the system 200 tomanage such followers in a variety of ways, such as viewing followers,deleting followers, and inviting new followers. FIG. 10 shows an exampleof a dialog box 1000 that may be used to display information to an SCEAHabout that SCEAH's followers and to receive input from the SCEAH tomanage the SCEAH's followers. Those having ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate how the system 200 may use the dialog box 1000 to enableone user to manage that SCEAH's followers.

Conversely, an SCEAH who is following other SCEAHs may use the system200 to manage the SCEAHs who that SCEAH is following in a variety ofways, such as viewing people being followed, deleting people beingfollowed, and requesting to become a follower of someone new. FIG. 11shows an example of a dialog box 1100 that may be used to displayinformation to an SCEAH about who that SCEAH is following and to receiveinput from the SCEAH to manage the SCEAHs who the SCEAH is following.Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate how the system200 may use the dialog box 1000 to enable one SCEAH to manage the SCEAHswho that SCEAH is following.

In the examples described above, a SCE is associated with two SCEAHs,such as a sender and a recipient. This is not a requirement of thepresent invention. As another example, a SCE may be associated with onlya single SCEAH, such as the creator (e.g., sender) of the SCE. Thepurpose of such an SCE may, for example, be for the SCE's creator topraise himself or herself, such as for achieving a personal goal.

An SCEAH may create such a self-directed SCE in a manner that is similarto the techniques described above for creating a two-SCEAH SCE.Therefore, for ease of explanation and illustration, certain techniquesfor creating a self-directed SCE will be described in connection withFIGS. 2 and 3. In such descriptions, it should be understood that the“sender” 202 shown in FIG. 2 represents the creator of the SCE, and thatthe “recipient” 204 shown in FIG. 2 is the same SCEAH as the sender 202.Therefore, in any description herein of self-directed social currencyevents, any references to the “sender” and/or “recipient” of such socialcurrency events should be understood to refer to the creators of suchsocial currency events.

To create a self-directed SCE (i.e., an SCE having at least one senderwho is the same as at least one recipient of the SCE), the sender 202may provide SCE creation input 206 to the first computing device 205 ain any of the ways described above with respect to FIGS. 2 and 3, exceptthat input relating to the “to” field 104 c and “to value” field 104 dmay be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 12, the computing device 205 a may display to thesender 202 a dialog box 1200 that the sender 202 may use to provide theSCE creation input 206. The dialog box 1200 of FIG. 12 is similar to thedialog box 400 of FIG. 4. For example, the dialog box 1200 contains:

-   -   “description” field 1206, which performs a function similar to        that of “description” field 406 in FIG. 4;    -   “category” field 1208;    -   “value” field 1210, which performs a function similar to that of        “value” field 410 in FIG. 4;    -   “effort rank” field 1211, which performs a function similar to        that of “effort rank” field 518 in FIG. 5;    -   “private” field 1212, which performs a function similar to that        of “private” field 412 in FIG. 4; and    -   save button 1214, which performs a function similar to that of        send button 414 in FIG. 4.

The dialog box 1200 in FIG. 12 also includes a “name” field 1220, intowhich the sender 202 may type or otherwise input a name of the SCE beingcreated.

In response to the sender 202 selecting the save button 1214 orotherwise providing input indicating that the sender 202 desires tocreate a self-directed SCE in accordance with the data in the dialog box1200, the system 200 may create an SCE based on the data shown in FIG.12. Assume for purposes of example that this is shown as SCE 214 b inFIG. 2. Such a self-directed SCE may be represented and stored using thesame data structure format as that shown in FIG. 1, except that certainfields (e.g., the “from” field 104 a and from value 104 b) may be leftempty. The system 200 may automatically store the email address or otheridentifier of the creator 202 of the self-directed SCE 214 b in the “to”field 104 c of the SCE 214 b, thereby eliminating the need for thecreator 202 to enter such information manually into the dialog box 1200.

Since the sender and recipient of a self-directed SCE are the sameperson, there is no need for the system 200 to generate and transmit thecreation notification 216 to the recipient/sender upon creation of aself-directed SCE. It may still be useful, however, for the system 200to notify the sender/creator 202 of such a SCE at one or more times. Forexample, a self-directed SCE may be designed to remind the creator 202of the goal or other information represented by a self-directed SCE onceor repeatedly (e.g., periodically or in accordance with some otherschedule, rule, or algorithm). For example, assume that the sender 202has set a goal of relaxing every day on his vacation. In such a case,the sender 202 may specify, via alert time field 1222, a time at whichthe system 200 is to alert the sender 202 of the goal represented by theSCE 214 b. The sender 202 may also specify, via location trigger fields1230, whether to alert the sender 202 of the SCE 214 b upon arrival at aspecified location, upon departure from the specified location, or both.The sender 202 may also specify, via recurrence pattern fields 1224,whether to alert the sender 202 of the SCE 214 b daily, weekly, monthly,yearly, or a combination thereof. The sender 202 may also specify, viastart date field 1226 and end date field 1228, a start date and end dateof the alert recurrence.

The system 200 may automatically notify (alert) the creator 202 of theSCE 214 b created via dialog box 1200 at the time specified by alerttime field 1222, according to the recurrence pattern specified byrecurrence pattern fields 1224, but only within the date range specifiedby the start and end date fields 1226 and 1228. For example, each timethe alert time specified by alert time field 1222 occurs within the daterange specified by the start and end date fields 1226 and 1228, thesystem 200 may display to the creator 202 a dialog box 1300 of the kindshown in FIG. 13. The dialog box 1300 is similar to the dialog box 400of FIG. 4, in that it contains “to” field 1302, “date” field 1304,“description” field 1306, “value” field 1310, and “private” field 1312,which are similar to fields 402, 404, 406, 410, and 412, respectively inFIG. 4. The system 200 may fill the initial value of “value” field 1310with the value entered by the creator 202 in “value” field 1210 of thedialog box 1200 in FIG. 12.

The dialog box 1300 of FIG. 13 contains “Accept” and “Reject” buttons1314 a and 1314 b, respectively, in place of the “Send” button 414 ofFIG. 4. If the creator 202 agrees with the truth of the statement in thedescription field 1306 or otherwise wishes to accept the creation of anew self-directed SCE in accordance with the data shown in the dialogbox 1300, then the creator 202 may select the “Accept” button 1314 a(and optionally edit the value of the value field 1310). Otherwise, thecreator 202 may select the “Reject” button.

If the creator 202 selects the “Accept” button 1314 a, then the system200 creates and stores a self-directed SCE in accordance with the datashown in the dialog box 1300. Otherwise, the system 200 does not createsuch a self-directed SCE. Since the system 200 may display the dialogbox 1300 repeatedly over time in accordance with the recurrence patternspecified in the dialog box 1200 of FIG. 12, the creator 202 may createmultiple self-directed SCEs in accordance with the data shown in thedialog box 1300 by selecting the “Accept” button 1314 a each time thedialog box 1300 is displayed.

An SCEAH who has created self-directed SCEs may use the system 200 tomanage such SCEs in a variety of ways, such as viewing, deleting, andcreating new self-directed SCEs. FIG. 14 shows an example of a dialogbox 1400 that may be used to display information to a SCEAH about thatSCEAH's self-directed SCEs and to receive input from the SCEAH to managethe SCEAH's self-directed SCEs. Those having ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate how the system 200 may use the dialog box 1400 to enableone SCEAH to manage that SCEAH's self-directed SCEs.

SCEAHs may use the system 200 to create multi-SCEAH SCEs that aregenerated automatically based on a template in a manner similar to thatdescribed above for self-directed SCEs in connection with FIG. 12. Anexample of a dialog box 1600 for creating such a conditional multi-SCEAHSCE is shown in FIG. 16. The primary difference between the dialog box1600 of FIG. 16 and the dialog box 1200 of FIG. 12 is that the dialogbox 1600 of FIG. 16 includes a “to” field 1602 in which the sender 202may type or otherwise input identifiers of one or more recipients. Oncesuch recipients have been specified, the system 200 may use the dialogbox 1600 to generate two-SCEAH SCEs in substantially the same manner asthat described above in connection with FIG. 12 for self-directed SCEs.

An SCEAH may use the system 200 to manage all SCEs that have beencreated and/or received by the SCEAH in a variety of ways, such asviewing, deleting, and creating such SCEs. FIG. 15 shows an example of adialog box 1500 that may be used to display information to an SCEAHabout SCEs that the SCEAH has created and/or received. Those havingordinary skill in the art will appreciate how the system 200 may use thedialog box 1500 to enable one SCEAH to manage SCEs that the SCEAH hascreated and/or received.

Similarly, a SCEAH may use the system 200 to manage all recurring SCEsthat have been created by the SCEAH in a variety of ways, such asviewing, deleting, and creating such SCEs. FIG. 17 shows an example of adialog box 1700 that may be used to display information to an SCEAHabout recurring SCEs that the SCEAH has created. Those having ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate how the system 200 may use the dialogbox 1700 to enable one SCEAH to manage SCEs that the SCEAH has createdand/or received.

Any of the lists described herein (such as the lists shown in FIGS. 8,9, 10, 11, 14, 15, and 17) may be sorted and/or filtered in any of avariety of ways, such as according to any field or combination offields. Such lists may include columns (fields) in addition to thoseshown herein and/or may omit columns (fields) shown herein.

Embodiments of the present invention may generate and display any of avariety of reports and other visual representations of SCEs stored inthe store 212. Such visual representations may, for example, includevisual representations of individual SCEs and/or visual representationsof information that has been generated based on a plurality of SCEs. Forexample, referring to FIGS. 18A-18C, various examples of such visualrepresentations are shown.

The visual representation 1800 shown in FIG. 18A includes visualrepresentations 1802 a-c of three SCEs. In FIG. 18A, the size of each ofthe representations 1802 a-c is proportional to or otherwise a functionof the value assigned to the corresponding SCE. In the particularexample of FIG. 18A, the SCE corresponding to representation 1802 a hasthe lowest value of the three depicted SCEs (as indicated by itsrelatively small size), the SCE corresponding to representation 1802 bhas the next-lowest value of the three depicted SCEs (as indicated bythe fact that its size is only larger than representation 1802 a), andthe SCE corresponding to representation 1802 c has the highest value ofthe three depicted SCEs (as indicated by the fact that it is larger thanany of the other representations 1802 a-b).

The visual representation 1800 shown in FIG. 18A may be used to depictthe relative values of any of a variety of values, such as:

-   -   the “to value” field 104 d (FIG. 1A) of self-directed SCEs;    -   the “to value” field 104 d of two-SCEAH SCEs; and    -   the “from value” field 104 b of two-SCEAH SCEs.

The visual representation 1810 shown in FIG. 18B includes visualrepresentations 1812 a-c of three SCEAHs of the system 200. In FIG. 18B,the size of each of the representations 1812 a-c is proportional to orotherwise a function of the number of SCEs associated with thecorresponding SCEAH. In the particular example of FIG. 18B, the SCEAHcorresponding to representation 1812 a is associated with the lowestnumber of SCEs (as indicated by its relatively small size), the SCEAHcorresponding to representation 1812 b is associated with thenext-lowest number of SCEs (as indicated by the fact that its size isonly larger than representation 1812 a), and the SCEAH corresponding torepresentation 1812 c is associated with the highest number of SCEs (asindicated by the fact that it is larger than any of the otherrepresentations 1812 a-b).

The visual representation 1810 shown in FIG. 18B may be used to depictthe relative numbers of any of a variety of SCEs, such as:

-   -   the number of SCEs received from each of the depicted SCEAHs;    -   the number of SCEs sent by each of the depicted SCEAHs;    -   for each of the depicted SCEAHs, the total value assigned by        recipients of all SCEs sent by that depicted SCEAH; and    -   for each of the depicted SCEAHs, the total value assigned by        that SCEAH to all SCEs sent by that SCEAHs.

The visual representation 1820 shown in FIG. 18C includes visualrepresentations 1822 a-d of three categories of SCEs in the system 200.In FIG. 18C, the size of each of the representations 1822 a-d isproportional to or otherwise a function of the number of SCEs associatedwith that category. In the particular example of FIG. 18C, the categorycorresponding to representation 1822 a is associated with the lowestnumber of SCEs (as indicated by its relatively small size), the categorycorresponding to representation 1822 b is associated with thenext-lowest number of SCEs (as indicated by the fact that its size isonly larger than representation 1822 a), the category corresponding torepresentation 1822 c is associated with the next-lowest number of SCEs(as indicated by the fact that its size is only larger thanrepresentations 1822 a and 1822 b) and the category corresponding torepresentation 1822 d is associated with the highest number of SCEs (asindicated by the fact that it is larger than any of the otherrepresentations 1822 a-c).

In the case of any of the visual representations 1800, 1810, and 1820shown in FIGS. 18A-18C, respectively, clicking on or otherwise selectinga particular phrase causes the system 200 to display one or more of thecorresponding SCEs. For example, selecting one of the phrases 1802 a-cin FIG. 18A causes the system 200 to display the corresponding SCEs;selecting one of the SCEAH names 1812 a-c in FIG. 18B causes the system200 to display all of the SCEs associated with that SCEAH; and selectingone of the category 1822 a-d in FIG. 18C causes the system 200 todisplay all of the SCEs associated with that category.

Embodiments of the present invention may generate and display variousmetrics related to SCEs (FIG. 3, operations 318 and 320). For example,referring to FIG. 19A, an example is shown of a report 1900 containing avariety of such metrics, which may be generated and displayed, forexample, by the module 210 based on data stored in the SCE store 212. Inparticular, the report 1900 shows, for each of a plurality of SCEAHs:

-   -   the total number (count) S of SCEs sent by the SCEAH;    -   the total number (count) R of SCEs received by the SCEAH;    -   the “net currency” score for the SCEAH, calculated as S−R;    -   the ratio S/R.

The net currency scores and ratios are examples of metrics that may beused to provide an indication of how frequently each SCEAH sends SCEs incomparison to how frequently that SCEAH receives SCEs. Displaying suchmetrics to the SCEAHs may encourage SCEAHs to send SCEs more frequentlyin an effort to increase their net scores and/or ratios.

Referring to FIG. 19B, an example is shown of a graph 1910 whichdisplays the value of the net currency score, ratio, or other metric fora particular SCEAH (labeled as “You” at the bottom of the graph 1910)and for a plurality of classes of SCEAH. The module 210 may, forexample, generate and display the graph 1910 based on data stored in theSCE store 212. The graph 1910 provides the particular SCEAH with anindication of how the value of that SCEAH's metric (e.g., net currencyscore) compares to the values of the same metric of other SCEAHs.Displaying such metric values relative to each other may encourage theSCEAH who is the focus of the graph 1910 to engage in, and toacknowledge others' engagement in, positive social behaviors morefrequently in an effort to increase the value of his or her metric.

The particular metrics illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B are merelyexamples and do not constitute limitations of the present invention. Asanother example, when calculating a net currency score or ratio, thesystem 200 may weight each constituent SCE, and calculate the netcurrency score as a weighted sum of the constituent SCEs.

Embodiments of the present invention may also generate and display, foreach of one or more SCEAHs, a single “social currency score” for thatSCEAH based on a variety of data. Referring to FIG. 20, an example isshown of a user interface 2000 for displaying the social currency scoreof a particular SCEAH, along with the sub-scores which were used tocalculate the social currency score. A social currency score for aparticular SCEAH may, for example, be calculated by the module 210 basedon any one or more of the following variables, which may be received asinput by the module 210:

-   -   the number (count) of SCEs sent and/or received by the SCEAH;    -   the absolute and/or relative sender-assigned value of SCEs sent        by the SCEAH;    -   the absolute and/or relative recipient-assigned value of SCEs        sent by the SCEAH;    -   the absolute and/or relative third party-assigned value of SCEs        sent by the SCEAH;    -   the absolute and/or relative sender-assigned value of SCEs        received by the SCEAH;    -   the absolute and/or relative recipient-assigned value of SCEs        received by the SCEAH;    -   the absolute and/or relative third party-assigned value of SCEs        received by the SCEAH;    -   the frequency with which the SCEAH sends and/or receives SCEs;        and    -   the amount of time since the SCEAH last sent and/or received a        SCE.

In the particular example of FIG. 20, the SCEAH score for a particularSCEAH is calculated by subtracting the total number (count) of SCEsreceived by that SCEAH from the total number (count) of SCEs sent bythat SCEAH. Regardless of the particular variables that are used tocalculate a SCEAH's social currency score, embodiments of the presentinvention may use any formula, rule, algorithm, or other process tocalculate the SCEAH's social currency score based on those variables.Such a calculation may include, for example, performing one oroperations of subtraction, addition, division, and/or multiplication andany two or more of the variables described above. Embodiments of thepresent invention may calculate the SCEAH's social currency scorerepeatedly over time. Since values of the variables that are used tocalculate the SCEAH's social currency score may vary over time, aparticular SCEAH's social currency score may vary over time.

The management module 210 may calculate any of the metrics disclosedherein (such as an SCEAH's social currency score) repeatedly, such ascontinuously or periodically (e.g., every second, minute, hour, day,week, month, or year). If the management module 210 calculates twovalues for a particular metric at two different times, the managementmodule 210 may calculate the total value at both times, or a total valueat one time and a difference (delta) at the second time.

The management module 210 may calculate any of the metrics disclosedherein on a normalized basis, whereby the initial raw metrics are usedby the management module 210 to derive one or more normalized values ofthose metrics. For example, consider an SCEAH named “Joe” with aparticular SCE having a description field 104 i with a value of “Thanksfor Taking out the Trash.” The management module 210 may identify allSCEs (including Joe's) that are similar to the particular SCE, based onthe values of one or more shared fields in the similar SCEs. Forexample, the management module 210 may use the value of the descriptionfield 104 i of the particular SCE (i.e., “Thanks for Taking out theTrash”) as a query against the values of the description fields of otherSCEs to find a subset of those SCEs having description fields whichsufficiently match the text “Thanks for Taking out the Trash.” This ismerely one example of identifying a subset of SCEs which match theparticular SCE based on the value of one or more fields in theparticular SCE and the values of the same field(s) in other SCEs.

The management module 210 may then calculate and report the arithmeticmean, median, mode, weighted mean, or some other statistic based on thesimilar SCEs, and then use that statistic, and the existing value of the“To Value” field 104 d of Joe's “Thanks for Taking out the Trash” SCE,to calculate a normalized value for the “To Value” field 104 d of Joe's“Thanks for Taking out the Trash” SCE. As another example, the “ToValue” field 104 d of the particular SCE just described may have anexisting value of 234, in which case the management module 210 maycalculate and report a normalized value of 114 for the “To Value” field104 d of that SCE, based on the average value of the “To Value” field104 d of SCEs that are similar to the “Thanks for Taking out the Trash”SCE, where such similar SCEs were identified based on similarities ofkey words in the “Description” fields 104 i of such SCEs.

The management module 210 may calculate, for any particular field in anyparticular SCE, any number of normalized values based on any number ofsets of SCEs that are similar to the particular SCE. For example,consider an SCE sent by the sender 202. The management module 210 maycalculate a first normalized value of the “To Field” of a particular SCEbased on SCEs sent by co-workers of the sender 202, and calculate asecond normalized value of the “To Field” of the same particular SCEbased on SCEs sent by family members of the sender 202. The first andsecond normalized values may differ in value from each other. Thisability to calculate different normalized values for the same SCE (e.g.,for the same field of the same SCE) allows users of SCEs to comparetheir SCEs against different sub-populations that are relevant to them.

The example above is merely an example of a more general ability ofembodiments of the present invention to calculate normalized values forgroups of SCEs that are similar to each other. To calculate a particularset of normalized values for a particular group of similar SCEs, themanagement module 210 may:

-   -   Select one or more of the SCE fields 104 a-ab shown in FIG. 1A        to use as a basis for identifying SCEs to include in the group        of similar SCEs. The selected set of SCE fields is referred to        herein as the “similarity field set.”    -   Identify any function, rule, algorithm, or combination thereof        to apply to the values of the fields in the similarity field set        to determine whether any particular SCE should be included in        the group of similar SCEs. The identified function, rule,        algorithm, or combination thereof is referred to herein as the        “similarity criteria.” For example, if the similarity field set        includes both the Category field 104 f and the Description field        104 i, then the similarity criteria may require that the        following two conditions be satisfied for a particular SCE to be        included in the group of similar SCEs: (1) the value of the        Category field 104 f of the particular SCE match a predetermined        category (e.g., “trash”) exactly; and (2) the value of the        Description field 104 i of the particular SCE match a        predetermined description (e.g., “take out the trash”) to at        least some predetermined degree of confidence (e.g., 60%).        Applying the latter kind of criterion may result in two values        being considered to be similar to each other even though they        are not identical to each other (e.g., “take out the trash” and        “taking out the garbage”).    -   Apply the similarity criteria to the SCEs 214 a-n in the SCE        store 212 (or a subset thereof), thereby producing a group of        SCEs which satisfy the similarity criteria. This group of SCEs,        in other words, is similar to each other according to the        similarity criteria, and is referred to herein as the “similar        SCE set.”

The management module 210 may then calculate, for each of one or morefields in the SCEs in the similar SCE set, a normalized value of thatfield for each of the SCEs in the similar SCE set, based on the rawvalues of that field of all of the SCEs in the similar SCE set. Forexample, the management module 210 may calculate, for a first SCE in thesimilar SCE set, a normalized value of the “To Value” field of the firstSCE, based on the values of the “To Value” field of all of the SCEs inthe similar SCE set, and then store that normalized value (e.g., in thefirst SCE). The management module 210 may perform such a calculation ofthe normalized value of the “To Value” field for some or all of the SCEsin the similar SCE set. Additionally or alternatively, the managementmodule 210 may calculate normalized values of fields other than thefields in the similarity field set. Such normalized values are examplesof values that may be stored in SCEs even though those values were notdirectly assigned to the SCEs by the senders, recipients, or other usersassociated with those SCEs.

The management module 210 may calculate a derivative metric from aprimary metric for an SCEAH, where the derivative metric represents therelative value of the primary metric to a metric calculated based on acontrol group of SCEAHs. For example, the management module 210 maycalculate an SCEAH's average “Time duration since last SCE date” as 2days, and determine that this value is 25% better than the nationalaverage for all SCEAHs and 10% worse than the average for all of theSCEAH's co-workers (i.e., other SCEAHs who have the same companyAffiliation as the SCEAH).

The management module 210 may calculate rankings for scores (andsub-scores), whereby such scores (and sub-scores) are replaced by theirranks when the data are sorted against a set of scores from otherSCEAHs. Such rankings may be used in any of the methods disclosedherein. For example, the management module 210 may sort the rankingsrelative to each other and display the rankings in their sorted order.The management module 210 may perform ranking using any rankingmethodology, such as ordinal ranking, fractional ranking, or modifiedcompetition ranking.

The management module 210 may calculate scaled values for scores (andsub-scores), whereby the management module 210 replaces such scores (andsub-scores) with their scaled values when the scores are compared withina set of scores from other SCEAHs. Such scaled values may be used in anyof the methods disclosed herein. For example, the management module maysort such scaled values relative to each other and display the scaledvalues in their sorted order. The management module 210 may performscaling using any scaling methodology, such as Stanine scoring or Stenscoring.

The management module 210 may enable any of the metrics disclosed hereinto be “rolled up” for one or more SCEAHs, in a manner similar to that inwhich financial metrics may be “rolled up” for consolidated entitiescomprised of numerous individual companies. For example, a “Total FromScore” may be calculated for Joe and a separate “Total From Score” maybe calculated for Joe and all other SCEAHs who share a similar“Affiliations” field 154 f value. Any data field may be used to createsuch calculation groupings. For example, a calculation grouping may bebased on the Location at which and the Time when SCEs were created(using the “Location of Creation” field 104 l and “Date Created” field104 e).

The following table illustrates a variety of metrics which may becalculated by the management module 210:

Example Calculation Score Name Methodology Purpose/Description Total“From Summation of “From The higher the better Value” Values” of one ormore SCEs held by one or more SCEAHs Total “To Summation of “To Thehigher the better Value” Values” of one or more SCEs held by one or moreSCEAHs Differential Subtraction of “To Zero indicates that the between“From” Value” from the SCE Sender and the SCE and “To” “From Value” froma Recipient have placed the Values singular SCE. same value on the SCE.Such singular Differentials, either calculations then positive ornegative, can summed up on a be useful for positively group basis forone changing behavior or more groupings patterns. of SCEs. Time durationSubtraction of last Shorter time duration is since last SCE two valuesin the indicative of greater Creation “Time of Creation” attention tonoticing data field other individual's actions and rewarding/encouraging them. A relative version of this score is used in theexample “Overall SCE Score” calculation provided below. Time durationSubtraction of last Shorter time duration is since last SCE two valuesin the indicative of greater SCE Date “SCE Date” data activities beingnoticed field by others. Average Age of Subtraction of “SCE A smalleraverage age is SCE Holdings Date” from the indicative of greater SCECurrent Date for activities being conducted one or more SCEs recentlyand is to be and then encouraged (i.e. a good calculating the deed todayis better than mean, median, mode, two a year ago) weighed-mean or Arelative version of this some other score is used in the statistics toexample “Overall SCE effectively Score” calculation depreciate the SCEprovided below. Holdings in question. # of SCEAH Summation of the Alarger number is Followers number of SCEAHs indicative of greater thatare being connectedness to others followed by the and the likelihoodthat SCEAH or SCEAHs the positive actions of those individuals willincrease the positive actions of the SCEAH that is following them. # ofSCEAH Summation of the A larger number is Following number of SCEAHsindicative of a greater that are following the influence on the positiveSCEAH or SCEAHs actions of others Ratio of Calculated by A ratio at 100indicates Followers/ dividing “# of that the SCEAH is equally FollowingSCEAH Followers” balanced between being a by “# of SCEAH follower and a“leader”. A Following” ratio above 100 (i.e. 250) is indicative of theSCEAH being more of a “Leader” and a ratio below 100 of being more of aFollower. Quality of Calculated as the This calculated value Those beingratio of the indicates the positive Followed average of the influencevalue of those Overall SCE Scores being followed. A higher of all SCEAHsbeing value is an indicator that followed relative the SCEAH isfollowing to all Overall SCE SECAH's that are doing Scores of ALL morepositive things and SCEAHs. thus the SECAH in question will experience agreater degree of being positively influenced into doing more that ismore positive. Ratios above 100 are indicative of higher than averagequality. Ratios below 100 are indicative of lower than average quality.Ratio of SCEs Calculated as the The calculated value received from ratioof number of indicates the Uncategorized SCE’s received fromacknowledgement of one’s SCEAHs SCEAH’s that have SCE by those SCEAHsnot been assigned outside the target SCEAH’s to one or more traditionalcircle of SCEAH Category acquaintances. Having good Field designationsdeeds acknowledged by divided by that strangers is reflective of numberof those who numerous positive benefits have. to all parties and shouldbe encouraged. This score does that. Ratios above 100 are indicative ofgreater stranger interaction. Ratio of SCEs Calculated as the Thecalculated value sent to ratio of number of indicates the UncategorizedSCE’s sent to acknowledgement of SCEAHs SCEAH’s that have positivesocial outside on not been assigned a SCEAH’s traditional to one or morecircle of acquaintances. SCEAH Category Acknowledging the good Fielddesignations deeds of strangers has divided by that numerous benefits toall number of those who parties and should be have. encouraged. Thisscore does that. Ratios above 100 are indicative of greater strangerinteraction. Overall SCE See below. Overall SCE Scores Score arecomposite scores that provide an overall indicator of Social Currencyhealth/standing of a singular SCEAH’s or one or more Groupings ofSCEAH’s.An Overall SCE Score (OSCS) may, for example, be calculated as follows,in which the “Normalized Total From Value Score” (NTFVS) is used as thestarting point for the calculation. The NTFVS may be increased anddecreased based on other factors, which may be appropriately weighted.Individual factors may be added to or removed from the calculation fromtime to time, and the weighting of individual factors may be modifiedfrom time to time.

In general, the OSCS may, for example, be calculated as follows:OSCS=NTFVS*CAF

The value of CAF may, for example, be calculated as follows, in which W1through W7 are weighting factors:CAF=(RTDLED*W1)+(RTDSLECT*W2)+(RFF*W3)+(Q*W4)+(RSERU*W5)+(RSESU*W6)+(RASCH*W7)

The entire calculation may be expanded as follows, where Di and Ej referto the corresponding rows in the table below:OSCS=D3*[(D6*E6)+(D8*E8*)+(D9*E9)+(D10*E10)+(D11*E11)+(D12*E12)+(D14*E14)]

D E F A B C Example Example Note 1 Abbr. Full Score Name Value WeightingKey 2 TFVS Total From Value Score 2,500 n/a N1 3 NTFVS Normalized TotalFrom Value Score 1,457 n/a N2 4 5 TDSLED Time duration since last SCEDate    2 n/a N3 6 RTDSLED Relative Time duration since last SCE 125% 0.5 N4 Date 7 TDSLEC Time duration since last SCE creation    4 n/a N5 8RTDSLEC Relative Time duration since last SCE 50%  0.25 N6 creation 9RFF Ratio of Followers/Following 125%  0.3 N7 10 Q Quality of Thosebeing Followed 75% 0.4 N8 11 RSERU Ratio of SCEs received from 125%  1 N9 Uncategorized SCEAHs 12 RSESU Ratio of SCEs sent to Uncategorized 80%1  N10 SCEAHs 13 ASCH Age of SC Holdings   25 n/a N11 14 RASCH RelativeAge of SC Holdings 50% 0.1 N12 15 16 NTFVS Normalized Total From ValueScore 1,457 <<From Above 17 CAF Calculated Adjustment Factor      3.53<<As Calculated 18 OSCS Overall Social Currency Score 5,136 <<AsCalculated 19 20 OSCS Overall Social Currency Score 5,136 <<From Above21 OROSCS Ordinal Ranked OSCS # 4,580  <<As Calculated 22 SROSCS StenRanked OSCS    8 <<As Calculated

The notes in the “Note Key” column of the table above are provided inthe table below:

Note Key Description N1 Raw SCE units N2 Normalized SCE units N3 days N4better than national average N5 days N6 worse than national average N7SCEAH is a relative Leader N8 SCEAH is following lower quality SCEAHs N9More strangers are acknowlegding SCEs N10 Less outreach by SCEAH tostrangers N11 Days N12 Better than national average

As illustrated by FIG. 20, embodiments of the present invention maycalculate two or more sub-scores for an SCEAH based on any of thevariables described above, and then calculate the SCEAH's socialcurrency score based on the sub-scores. In the particular example ofFIG. 20, the system 200 has calculated the following sub-scores:

-   -   a “sent” sub-score of 1,000 based on the number of SCEs sent by        the SCEAH;    -   a “received” sub-score of 500 based on the number of SCEs        received by the SCEAH; and    -   a “net” sub-score of 500 based on the net value of the “sent”        and “received” sub-scores.

Regardless of the particular sub-scores that are calculated, embodimentsof the present invention may use any formula, rule, algorithm, or otherprocess to calculate the SCEAH's social currency score based on thosesub-scores.

As further illustrated in FIG. 20, embodiments of the present inventionmay also generate and display:

-   -   An explanation of the SCEAH's social currency score which        explains, for example, how the SCEAH's social currency score        compares with the social currency scores of other SCEAHs with        whom the SCEAH has exchanged SCEs and with all SCEAHs.    -   A recommendation to the SCEAH for improving the SCEAH's social        currency score. The system 200 may select or generate such a        recommendation based on any one or more of the following: the        SCEAH's SCE score, the user's sub-scores, the SCEAH's percentile        among SCEAHs with whom the SCEAH has exchanged SCEs, and the        SCEAH's percentile among all SCEAHs of the system 200.    -   An inspirational quote. The system 200 may, for example, select        the quote randomly, or based on one or more properties of the        SCEAH.

The illustration shown in FIG. 20 is merely one example of a way inwhich various scores calculated by embodiments of the present inventionmay be displayed. More generally, output representing scores may bemanifested using visual and/or auditory output. Examples of visualoutput include numbers, images, graphics, and any combination thereof.For example, the Sten Ranked OSCS score described above may berepresented using numbers, bars, icons, or the like, as shown in theexamples in FIG. 25.

Embodiments of the present invention may also be used to calculate anddisplay the ratio of the sender-assigned value of a SCE to itsrecipient-assigned value, and vice versa. For example, consider the SCEillustrated in FIG. 21. This is the SCE 214 a that was sent by thesender 202 in FIG. 4 and received by the recipient 204 in FIG. 5. Asshown therein, the sender 202 assigned a value of 200 to the SCE 214 a,while the recipient assigned a value of 100 to the SCE 214 a. As aresult, the sender-recipient value ratio of the SCE 214 a is 2 (i.e.,200/100), while the recipient-sender value ratio of the SCE 214 a is 0.5(i.e., 100/200). Embodiments of the present invention may calculate anddisplay either or both of these ratios, e.g., to the sender 202 and/orthe recipient 204. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention maycalculate metrics based on a plurality of such ratios, such as theaverage sender-recipient ratio for all SCEs sent by a particular senderor received by a particular recipient. Any such ratios may be used as avariable in the calculation of a social currency score for an SCEAH (seedescription of FIG. 20 above).

As described above, embodiments of the present invention may displayvarious lists of SCEs. An example of one such list 2200 is shown in FIG.22. The list 2200 displays some or all of the SCEs received by aparticular recipient. The list may scroll automatically to display arolling list of SCEs received by the recipient. The recipient SCEAH maymanually speed up the scrolling of the list 2200, such as by pressingthe up-arrow or down-arrow key, by rolling a scroll wheel, or by swipingon a touch screen in the desired direction. The SCEAHs may pause andunpause scrolling of the list by providing input such as pressing thespacebar, clicking a mouse button, or tapping a touch screen.

Embodiments of the present invention may generate and display variousmeasures of comparison between different SCEAHs. For example, referringto FIG. 23, an example is shown of a table 2300 which includes aplurality of rows, each of which represents, for a distinct user of thesystem 200:

-   -   the SCEAH's name or other identifier;    -   the SCEAH's social currency score;    -   the total value of SCEs sent by the SCEAH; and    -   another score, of any kind which the user wishes to view for        purposes of comparison to the scores in the second and third        columns of the table.

A table such as the table 2300 shown in FIG. 23 may be used to provideone or more SCEAHs with an easy-to-understand visual representation ofhow different SCEAHs compare to each other. The particular metricsrepresented by columns of the table 2300 in FIG. 23 are merely examplesand do not constitute limitations of the present invention. Embodimentsof the present invention may generate tables, reports, and other outputrepresenting any combination of data, metrics, and other values storedby the system 200 for easy reference and comparison by SCEAHs.

The system 200 may generate a new SCE in response to any triggeringevent. For example, the system 200 may generate a new SCE in response toinput received from the sender 202, such as pressing a “Create” button.As another example, the sender 202 may provide audio input to the system200, such as by the sender 202 snapping his or her fingers or providingother audio input that the system 200 is preconfigured to recognize as atrigger for creating a new SCE. In response to receiving such audioinput and determining that such audio input is a trigger for creating anew SCE, the system 200 may create a new SCE in any of the waysdisclosed herein. Furthermore, the system 200 may record the sender202's audio input, store the recording in association with thenewly-created SCE, and play back the recorded audio to the recipient 204of the SCE when the system 200 notifies the recipient 204 of the SCEand/or when the system 200 otherwise provides output to the recipient204 in relation to the SCE.

The system 200 may recognize a plurality of audio inputs as triggers forcreating new SCEs. If the sender 202 provides any such audio input tothe system 200, the system 200 may create a new SCE in response. Thesystem 200 may associate different audio inputs with different featuresof SCEs. For example, the system 200 may associate a first audio input(such as a snapping sound) with a first description and associate asecond audio input (such as a clapping sound) with a second description.In response to receiving the first audio input, the system 200 maygenerate a new SCE and insert the first description into its descriptionfield 104 i. In response to receiving the second audio input, the system200 may generate a new SCE and insert the second description into itsdescription field 104 i.

The system 200 may associate audio with a SCE even if that SCE was notcreated in response to audio input by the sender 202. For example, whencreating a new SCE, the system 200 may enable the sender 202 to select aparticular audio stream to associate with the SCE via input other thanaudio input, such as a drop-down list containing a list of descriptionsof audio streams. The sender 202 may select a particular audio streamfrom the list, in response to which the system 200 may associate theselected audio stream with the SCE and play back the selected audiostream to the recipient 204 in the same manner as if the audio streamhad been provided as input by the sender 202 to the system 200.

More generally, the system 200 may use any of a variety of inputs as atrigger for creating a new SCE and/or as a source of content forinclusion within the SCE. For example, the system 200 may generate a SCEbased on any source data, such as a document, a message (e.g., an emailmessage, text message, or voice message), a web page, output of acomputer program or computing device, or any portion or combinationthereof. The sender or recipient of such source data may, for example,provide input to the system 200 representing an instruction to generatea SCE based on the source data. Alternatively, for example, the system200 may generate a SCE automatically, such as by determiningautomatically that source data (such as an email message or datareceived from a computer program or computing device) represents praiseof a user, either by the same user or another user.

Whether the system 200 is triggered manually or automatically togenerate the SCE, the system 200 may populate some or all of the SCEbased on the source data. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 24, thesystem 200 may:

-   -   populate the “to” field of the SCE automatically with the value        of the “to” field of the source email message;    -   populate the “date” field of the SCE automatically with the date        of the source email message;    -   populate the “description” field of the SCE automatically with        the body of the source email message; and    -   populate the “category” field of the SCE with the category of        the source email message.

The sender may manually edit any such fields before sending the SCE, andmay manually enter data into any fields of the SCE that were notautomatically populated by the system 200.

In cases in which the system 200 generates a SCE in response to manualinput from the sender 202, such input may, for example, be the sameinput that the user provides to create and/or send the source message.For example, FIG. 24 shows an example in which the sender of a sourceemail message selects a “Send and Create SCE” button, which causes thesystem 200 both to send the email message and to display the dialog box400 of FIG. 4, which the sender may fill in and then click on “Send” tocause the system 200 to generate and send a new SCE.

Embodiments of the present invention have a variety of advantages,including one or more of the following. Embodiments of the presentinvention enable people to create and exchange social currency for thepurposes of encouraging positive social behaviors and discouragingnegative social behaviors. Whereas many existing financial currencies,virtual currencies, awards, badges, and the like at best representsocial approval/disapproval of particular actions at most indirectly andambiguously, the social currency events (SCEs) disclosed herein enablepeople to provide social approval/disapproval of particular actionsdirectly and unambiguously. As a result, SCEs are more likely to beuseful for encouraging positive social behaviors and discouragingnegative social behaviors than existing financial currencies or othermechanisms.

Another benefit of SCEs is that they may be used by any SCEAH (e.g.,human, computer, or computer program) to create recognition of anyevent. An SCE need not be created or authorized by any centralauthority. Nor do the permissible descriptions, categories, and otherfields of SCEs need to be created or authorized by any centralauthority. Instead, an SCE may be created by any SCEAH to recognize anyevent, and be populated with any value(s) chosen by the SCEAH.Similarity, the recipient of an SCE may assign any value to the SCE andrevise values of the SCE, as may third parties. Although certainrestrictions may be imposed on the ability of certain parties to editcertain aspects of SCEs (e.g., the recipient of an SCE may be prohibitedfrom editing the “From Value” field of the SCE), the lack of any centralauthority for issuing SCEs provides SCEs with a degree of flexibility,and provides the parties to SCEs with a degree of autonomy, that is notfound in traditional currencies, virtual currencies, awards, badges, andthe like.

Furthermore, the various scores, metrics, and other values that may becalculated, displayed, and shared among a community of users byembodiments of the present invention enables the effects of SCEs to befelt beyond the individual parties to particular transactions involvingSCEs. As a result, embodiments of the present invention may be used bothto spread knowledge and SCEs and to multiply the impact of SCEs inencouraging positive social behaviors and discouraging negative socialbehaviors by amplifying the social effects of each SCE.

Embodiments of the present invention may calculate such various scores,metrics, and other values automatically based on data stored in the SCEstore 212, which may contain data representing hundreds, thousands, ormore SCEs. The system 200 may calculate various scores, metrics, andother values based on such data in real-time or substantially inreal-time. For example, the system 200 may calculate what is describedabove as a net currency score and/or a ratio S/R for a particular SCEAHin real-time or substantially in real-time (e.g., in less than amillisecond), and do so for a large number (e.g., hundreds or thousands)of SCEAHs, also in real-time or substantially in real-time. In this way,embodiments of the present invention may calculate and display aggregateinformation based on data stored in the SCE store 212 without anysubstantial delay, thereby enabling users of the system 200 to be keptupdated on such aggregate information essentially instantaneously. Suchreal-time calculation, storage, and transmission would not be possiblewithout the use of modern computer and communication technology. Theimplementation of embodiments of the present invention to perform suchreal-time calculation, storage, and transmission, therefore, does not“merely” implement methods on a computer which would otherwise beimplementable by hand, but rather fundamentally transforms methods whichwould have no practical value and/or be impossible to perform withoutthe use of modern computer and communication technology into methodswhich both have significant advantages and differ fundamentally fromtraditional techniques for creating, storing, and valuing currencies.

Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention enable the rewarding,tracking, and comparison of an individual's social events with theexpress purpose of encouraging and accelerating additional positivesocial interactions and events. In order to do so, embodiments of thepresent invention provide SCEAHs with various ways in which theiractions can be compared and ranked, both to themselves over time andagainst others.

By enabling multiple parties, such as one or more senders and one ormore recipients, of each SCE to assign a value to the SCE, certainembodiments of the present invention provide a built-in feedbackmechanism for assigning values to SCEs that are based on input providedby at least two different parties. This mechanism protects againstovervaluing and undervaluing of SCEs, and facilitates comparing thevalues of disparate SCEs to each other. The ability of individualparties to change the value assigned by them to individual SCEs overtime further supports the ability of embodiments of the presentinvention to assign values to SCEs which accurately represent the valuesof those SCEs to the parties who have an interest in those SCEs.

Although SCEs are intended for use specifically to encourage positivesocial behaviors and to discourage negative social behaviors, withinthese confines SCEs may be used in any context in connection with anykind of social behavior. As a result, SCEs may be used to make employeesmore effective and happy; to build teams and make them more productive;to improve the performance of athletes; to encourage children to cleanup their rooms; to increase volunteerism and non-profit donations; andto help people to lose weight, just to name a few. As these examplesillustrate, SCEs are generally-applicable vehicles for storing andtransferring value in approval and disapproval of social behaviors andfor communicating such value to others.

It is to be understood that although the invention has been describedabove in terms of particular embodiments, the foregoing embodiments areprovided as illustrative only, and do not limit or define the scope ofthe invention. Various other embodiments, including but not limited tothe following, are also within the scope of the claims. For example,elements and components described herein may be further divided intoadditional components or joined together to form fewer components forperforming the same functions.

Any of the functions disclosed herein may be implemented using means forperforming those functions. Such means include, but are not limited to,any of the components disclosed herein, such as the computer-relatedcomponents described below.

Although certain embodiments of the present invention are described asimplementing a “currency,” the concept of currency is merely a usefulmetaphor for certain embodiments of the present invention and does notconstitute a limitation of the present invention. Although certainembodiments of the present invention have certain characteristics ofcurrencies, such embodiments may also lack other characteristics ofcurrencies and/or have characteristics lacking in currencies.

As described above, a social currency event (SCE) may represent socialapproval or disapproval of a behavior. An SCE may, for example,represent approval using a positive numerical value (e.g., in the “fromvalue” field 104 b and/or the “to value” field 104 d) and representdisapproval using a negative numerical value (e.g., in the “from value”field 104 b and/or the “to value” field 104 d). These are merelyexamples, however, and do not constitute limitations of the presentinvention. Embodiments of the present invention may represent approvaland disapproval using any suitable data. Although such data may take theform of simple numerical data, this is merely an example and does notconstitute a limitation of the present invention. For example, values inthe “from value” 104 b and “to value” fields 104 d may take the form ofcomplex data structures which include one or more units of data havingany combination of data types, including non-numerical data types (suchas lists, arrays, and character strings).

The techniques described above may be implemented, for example, inhardware, one or more computer programs tangibly stored on one or morecomputer-readable media, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thetechniques described above may be implemented in one or more computerprograms executing on (or executable by) a programmable computerincluding any combination of any number of the following: a processor, astorage medium readable and/or writable by the processor (including, forexample, volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), aninput device, and an output device. Program code may be applied to inputentered using the input device to perform the functions described and togenerate output using the output device.

Each computer program within the scope of the claims below may beimplemented in any programming language, such as assembly language,machine language, a high-level procedural programming language, or anobject-oriented programming language. The programming language may, forexample, be a compiled or interpreted programming language.

Each such computer program may be implemented in a computer programproduct tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device forexecution by a computer processor. Method steps of the invention may beperformed by one or more computer processors executing a programtangibly embodied on a computer-readable medium to perform functions ofthe invention by operating on input and generating output. Suitableprocessors include, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors. Generally, the processor receives (reads) instructionsand data from a memory (such as a read-only memory and/or a randomaccess memory) and writes (stores) instructions and data to the memory.Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer programinstructions and data include, for example, all forms of non-volatilememory, such as semiconductor memory devices, including EPROM, EEPROM,and flash memory devices; magnetic disks such as internal hard disks andremovable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROMs. Any of theforegoing may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, specially-designedASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) or FPGAs(Field-Programmable Gate Arrays). A computer can generally also receive(read) programs and data from, and write (store) programs and data to, anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium such as an internal disk(not shown) or a removable disk. These elements will also be found in aconventional desktop or workstation computer as well as other computerssuitable for executing computer programs implementing the methodsdescribed herein, which may be used in conjunction with any digitalprint engine or marking engine, display monitor, or other raster outputdevice capable of producing color or gray scale pixels on paper, film,display screen, or other output medium.

Any data disclosed herein may be implemented, for example, in one ormore data structures tangibly stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. Embodiments of the invention may store suchdata in such data structure(s) and read such data from such datastructure(s).

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method performed by at least one computerprocessor executing computer program instructions stored on at least onenon-transitory computer-readable medium, the method comprising: (A)receiving, over a network from a first computing device, datarepresenting a first plurality of social currency event data structurescreated by a first user, wherein the first plurality of social currencyevent data structures includes data representing first values of thefirst plurality of social currency event data structures to the firstuser; (B) receiving, over the network from a second computing device,data representing a second plurality of social currency event datastructures addressed to the first user, wherein the second plurality ofsocial currency event data structures includes data representing secondvalues of the second plurality of social currency event data structuresto the first user; (C) calculating a first count of the first pluralityof social currency event data structures; (D) calculating a second countof the second plurality of social currency event data structures; and(E) calculating a score associated with the first user based on at leasttwo of the first count, the second count, the first values, and thesecond values.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein (E) comprisescalculating the score by subtracting the second count from the firstcount.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein (E) comprises calculating thescore by subtracting the first count from the second count.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein (E) comprises calculating the score bydividing the second count by the first count.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein (E) comprises calculating the score by dividing the first countby the second count.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstplurality of social currency event data structures further includes datarepresenting third values of the first plurality of social currencyevent data structures to a plurality of second users; and wherein (E)comprises calculating the score associated with the first user based onat least two of the first count, the second count, the first values, thesecond values, and the third values.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinthe first plurality of social currency event data structures furtherincludes data representing fourth values of the second plurality ofsocial currency event data structures to a plurality of fourth users;and wherein (E) comprises calculating the score associated with thefirst user based on at least two of the first count, the second count,the first values, the second values, the third values, and the fourthvalues.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: (F) repeating(A)-(E) periodically.
 9. A system comprising at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable medium containing computer program instructionsexecutable by at least one computer processor to perform a method, themethod comprising: (A) receiving, over a network from a first computingdevice, data representing a first plurality of social currency eventdata structures created by a first user, wherein the first plurality ofsocial currency event data structures includes data representing firstvalues of the first plurality of social currency event data structuresto the first user; (B) receiving, over the network from a secondcomputing device, data representing a second plurality of socialcurrency event data structures addressed to the first user, wherein thesecond plurality of social currency event data structures includes datarepresenting second values of the second plurality of social currencyevent data structures to the first user; (C) calculating a first countof the first plurality of social currency event data structures; (D)calculating a second count of the second plurality of social currencyevent data structures; and (E) calculating a score associated with thefirst user based on at least two of the first count, the second count,the first values, and the second values.
 10. The system of claim 9,wherein (E) comprises calculating the score by subtracting the secondcount from the first count.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein (E)comprises calculating the score by subtracting the first count from thesecond count.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein (E) comprisescalculating the score by dividing the second count by the first count.13. The system of claim 9, wherein (E) comprises calculating the scoreby dividing the first count by the second count.
 14. The system of claim9, wherein the first plurality of social currency event data structuresfurther includes data representing third values of the first pluralityof social currency event data structures to a plurality of second users;and wherein (E) comprises calculating the score associated with thefirst user based on at least two of the first count, the second count,the first values, the second values, and the third values.
 15. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the first plurality of social currency eventdata structures further includes data representing fourth values of thesecond plurality of social currency event data structures to a pluralityof fourth users; and wherein (E) comprises calculating the scoreassociated with the first user based on at least two of the first count,the second count, the first values, the second values, the third values,and the fourth values.
 16. The system of claim 9, wherein the methodfurther comprises: (F) repeating (A)-(E) periodically.